More REUSABLE Bags!! Handmade! Eco!! This Time Small Ones in Thread!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


I like making REUSABLE Bags!!

The ones I make are all Cotton, Washable, -- but most and best of all, REUSABLE -- in fact, from personal experience and use, bags like the ones I make last quite a while!!

This is about some small ones I have made - all hand-crocheted "fabric" in different sizes of Threads - in Seasonal or Occasional themes. They can all be found in my Etsy Shop (each picture links to the Etsy listing)!

You know, Handmade REUSABLE Bags are Eco for several reasons: Handmade is Low Carbon Emissions, most of my materials are washed/bleached cotton with non-toxic dyes -- and always made to be REUSABLE and replace disposable alternatives!!

Here they are:


In Red and Green and White -- usually associated with Christmas, but also a Nature theme year round:




In Blues - a popular color theme year round, but also associated with Judaica ... Hanukkah ... French Country ... Nautical ... Beach Themes ...




In White with Silver Accents in the form of blending filament crocheted in -- Made with Weddings and Graduations and Summer Evenings in mind ....



Eco Reusable Bags, such as these are popular with my fellow team-mates of Team EcoEtsy!!

This Year's LOCAL HARVEST - Yummy!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers




Late June or early July is the start of the season for pick-your-own orchards - at least, where I live here in the Antelope Valley of Southern California!!

I've been there twice so far this month - it was for the Apricots!! They only have them for a few weeks early in the summer and they are absolutely one of my favorite fruits!! Picked 20 ibs of fruit both times -- and most of them were Apricots - 2 varieties. So delicious!!

Though I still have fresh ones in the fridge, I have a whole bunch of them halved in the freezer - hopefully, they will last for months!!

Also, picked a few peaches and plums!!

Boy-oh-boy!! Fresh fruit right off the tree -- nothing tastes as good!!

I HIGHLY recommend finding an orchard to go picking in, if you can find any where you live.

• Better tasting.
• Usually Better for You!
• And definitely Better for the Environment - picking locally!! They call it "Low Carbon" - less packaging, less transportation, less carbon emissions for what you buy!
  

And the quality of the fruit is so much better - doesn't compare at all to store-bought fruit!!

I admit - at this point, I am a bit spoiled!!

The local orchrds in the Antelope Valley usally have fruit on the trees through sometime in October or early November - though the Apricots are only for a few weeks, they have different varieties of Peaches, Apples, Pears and Plums at various times through the months. If you don't want to pick yourself, they usually have some fresh-picked fruit in their cold-storage, which you can just buy.

There are a vsriety of orchards that either sell on-site or let you pick yourself in the Antelope Valley -- and east of us, I believe in what is known as Apple Valley.

Check http://www.localharvest.org for what they have listed, wherever you live -- or maybe the local Chambers of Commerce can help!!

It is really really worth the time and effort to go and pick your own fruit -- some of us even think it is FUN!!!!

HAND-CROCHETED FLOWERS - for Appliques ... Buttons ... Decorations ... Pendants

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers

It all started when I needed to make Flowers - particularly attached 3-dimensional Flowers - for Doilies and other Thread Crochet items I was making to sell on consignment about 6 years ago.

I found I loved making them - in all kinds of colors, some solid colors, some variegated or shaded colors.



I also learned to put beads on them - inside the petals ... or around the petals ...



Up until a little while ago, I just made them for my own finished projects, both in Threads and Yarns -- all kinds.



But recently I decided to make a few sets in some of my more unusual Threads and put them up for sale in a Section of my Shop on Etsy.



I am making and selling them for several reasons:

-- as an alternative to plastic, metal or non-renewable material for attachments, decorations or buttons --

-- as colorful Cotton Decorations to be sewn on clothes or bags --

-- as colorful "cloth" Pendants or Charms for Necklaces, Bracelets, etc.

All Handmade, All Cotton, All Washable - can even be used on Baby and Children's items!!

I have quite a stash of Threads and Yarns -- so I can make them for all sorts of items -- in all sorts of sizes -- in all sorts of colors!! Some of my threads and yarns are Natural (washed, non-toxic) also - and there are small amounts of organic yarns to be found also, too!!

Check my "crocheted flowers" section here on my blog for more articles, including pictures, about Handmade Flowers!

Found a New Handmade Online Community - CAFE HANDMADE

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers

Find more photos like this on Cafe Handmade Community



I support Handmade in a big way -- I do buy Handmade sometimes, but I also make a lot of Handmade for my personal life, so I don't have to buy at all: Housewares, some clothing, Jewelry, Gifts for Family and Friends, Donations, Fresh Herbs in my front-yard container garden!!

Well, I found this community in a NING Network - it is for Lovers of Handmade, makers of Handmade (whether or not they sell), buyers of Handmade - I guess even just admirers of Handmade.

Above is a Slideshow of my photos on CAFE HANDMADE. At the bottom is a Slideshow of all the photos from CAFE HANDMADE.

They say a photo is worth a thousand words, so take a look!!

Lots of HANDMADE available in this world still!!!

You can find me on CAFE HANDMADE at: http://cafehandmade.ning.com/profile/RuthSSperling

Find more photos like this on Cafe Handmade Community

Patriotic AMERICANA Themes In My Designs

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


I truly am Patriotic.

The Freedoms and Rights provided us in the United States of America by the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and our Constitution are so valuable to me as a person -- well words are not enough to express it, but I can in My Designs In Fiber!!

It does, I admit, have a lot to do with my family's history going back generations -- more generations than I know of, I am sure. The generations that I have known in my life have had a lot to celebrate in being able to emigrate to the United States of America. The discrimination earlier generations suffered -- both religious and "class", I am afraid -- was all too real and did cause real suffering in my family, but I will leave it at that generally and not go into details.

Various members of my immediate and extended family have not only made good use of the Freedoms and Rights in the United States of America, but once established here, they extended offers of help to others in need. This, again, as in other blog posts I have written will be left at: "Those who know, know!"

So, over more recent years, since I have been creating in my crafts, I have expressed my Patriotic feelings by creating Designs In Fiber in AMERICANA themes.

Most recently, this year, I designed the Basket and Coaster in this image. They will be available in different places on the Internet this year:

(Noted Added July 23, 2010: The Bowl pictured below is availabe as part of a Set of Bowls for Sale as Fundraising for Design Style Guide at http://www.zibbet.com/designstyleguide/artwork?artworkId=74248 !!
The Set of Coasters in this picture are available in my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/listing/48303608/thread-crochet-coaster-americana-star !!)





One year not too long ago, I decided to design a Thread Crochet Doily in a "Star Spangled Banner" theme - as it was to be used for Home Decor, I made it round, with White Stars in a Field of Blue with Red and White Stripes around that:




Also, one year not too long ago, I decided to make an Image in Fiber representing what I considered a typical AMERICANA theme: A Flag Bearer on a Horse, as you would see in any Patriotic celebration:




And, ah-h-h, one of my favorite AMERICANA themes - the Majestic Eagle -- not only a symbol for this country, but, as wildlife, an environmental one!!



The last three items pictured have been long gone -- but I can always do my best to reproduce any of them by Special Request.

I do still have a few AMERICANA themed items in my Etsy shop, if any are interested. By the way, the lacey basket in shaded blues and whites would obviously be considered Vintage Style AMERICANA!

Elizabeth Graf's "VISIT MY ART GALLERY" - A Permanent Treasury on Etsy!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers





Elizabeth Graf has made a Treasury East -- a Permanent Member-Curated Gallery on etsy.com -- the picture above links to the actual Treasury!

Beautiful Colors!!

This picture is of the Treasury as of the date of this post -- it can change whenever Elizabeth edits it!!